


Let's Go Get Away

by Scribomaniac



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M, Lifeguard, Modern AU, beach, its great, rowaelin, rowan is young and super awkward with girls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-25 08:58:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12527700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scribomaniac/pseuds/Scribomaniac
Summary: Modern beach AU where Rowan is a lifeguard and has a crush on Aelin





	1. Chapter 1

Rowan stared out at the ocean before him, his green eyes squinting to ward off the glare.  Squeals of delight and amusement reached his ears, making his already frowning lips pull back into a grimace.  He took his eyes off the water for a second to stare down at the two young children hiding beneath his lifeguard chair, hiding from their parents.  Shaking his head, he returned his gaze to the water and ensured that no one had drowned while he was distracted.   **  
**

He hated this job.  Really, he did.  The pay sucked, the hours were long, and nothing ever happened.  No one ever drowned, no one was ever attacked by sharks or stung by jelly fish, and the worst thing to ever happen on his beach was the day when an unfortunate looking man mistook it for a nudist colony—and that was only because of the screaming mothers.  

But it was a job.  And for a seventeen year old boy, it was a much needed one.  College was just around the corner—he only had one more year of high school—and had five older siblings.  His parents had made it quite clear a long time ago that they expected their children to help pay for tuition.  So this lifeguarding gig, no matter how boring or frustrating it got, was a necessary evil.  

“Hey Ro!”  A voice from below called.  Shoulders hunching, Rowan looked down to see his cousin, Endymion, the only person in the world brave enough—or stupid enough, he hadn’t decided—to call him ‘Ro’, with his hands cupped around his mouth.  “Go get some lunch!”

Running a hand through his white hair, Rowan thanked whatever gods were looking down on him and climbed down from his chair.  He nodded to Endymion as he landed on the sandy floor and headed towards the watch tower where he kept his sack lunch.  On his way, he waved out to Gavriel who had the unfortunate job of monitoring swimmers  from a small row boat.  His tawny eyed friend waved back enthusiastically, glad to have something to break up the monotony.  

That was one good thing about this job, Rowan supposed.  All his friends were his co-workers, and each of them took care of each other and made sure no one went stir crazy on the job.  

It didn’t take long for Rowan to reach the watch tower and grab his sad excuse for a lunch, and after quickly and efficiently reapplying his sun screen he headed out to the balcony to eat his tuna sandwich.  Already there, leaning against the railing of the balcony, was his older sister, Rhonwyn.  The screen door of the watch tower snapped shut behind him, causing her to turn around.  “Hey, baby bro,” she grinned then nodded towards his brown lunch bag.  “Tuna fish?”  Rowan nodded solemnly.  “Yeah, me too.”

Rolling his green eyes, he barked out a laugh, “It’s almost like we have the same mom or something.”

Rhonwyn jabbed her elbow into his side, but her snort of amusement told him she wasn’t actually mad.  Brushing her long white hair out of her face, she began pulling it up into a bun.  “You gonna make it home for dinner tonight?”

“No,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m pulling a double shift today.”

“What?”  She stared at him, green eyes wide and incredulous.  “Why the hell would you do that?”

He stared at her blankly, “The money, Rhonwyn.  The money.”

She rolled her eyes, “You are taking this saving thing way too seriously.  Mom and dad aren’t going to not send you to college.  It’s not like they don’t have the money, either.  They just want us to be responsible, or whatever.”

Rowan shrugged, “I’m not taking the chance, but thanks for the advice.”  He reached in his lunch bag and pulled out his sandwich and began eating it.  Another bad thing about this job was that they only had half hour lunch breaks, and looking at his watch, Rowan had already lost ten minutes of his.  

“Hey!”  A voice called from below.  Rowan looked down to see a girl so gorgeous he began choking on his tuna.  Rhonwyn thumped him on the back, causing the food to dislodge from his esophagus, and the girl below asked, “You okay?”  Rowan nodded, his cheeks burning a bright red.  He hoped the girl wouldn’t notice the hue of his cheeks, or that she thought it was due to sunburn.  

Determining that her brother wasn’t going to choke to death, Rhonwyn leaned back against the railing and looked back down at the golden haired girl.  “What’s up?  She asked.

Blue eyes darting between the two siblings, the girl took a moment before asking, “Where can I rent a surfboard?”  

Both girls looked at Rowen, expecting him to join the conversation and answer the question.  His mouth dried and his chest tightened. So he just stood there—frozen.

Giving her brother a look, Rhonwyn covered for him, “Keep heading that way,” she jerked her thumb behind her shoulder, “for, like, another five minutes and then you’ll see the rental booth.  It’s real big so you can’t miss it.”  The girl said her thanks and was on her way.  Rhonwyn turned back to Rowan and raised a brow.  “You’re pathetic, you know that?”

Gulping, Rowan returned his attention to his sandwich and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“How old are you again?”  She pressed.  “Seventeen?  How can you still not talk to girls?”

“I can talk to girls,” he defended, around mouth full of tuna and mayonnaise.    

Rhonwyn rolled her eyes, “Teachers and relatives don’t count.  Gods, it’s Lyria all over again.”

“Don’t start,” Rowan grimaced.  Lyria had been a fellow lifeguard last summer.  A very cute lifeguard.  With dark wavy hair and bronzed skin.  Rowan had developed a massive crush on her that summer—and also hadn’t spoken a single word to her.  It wasn’t his fault.  He just got so nervous around girls.  Especially ones he liked.  He’d spent all summer trying to muster up the courage to ask her out, but he wasn’t fast enough.  Summer had ended and she had moved away, none the wiser to Rowan’s feelings.  

“Besides,” he swallowed, “it’s completely different situation.  I don’t even know that girl.”  Though he wished he did.  

“Do you want to know her?”  A twinkle gleamed in Rhonwyn’s eye and the smile she aimed at him was purely feline.  

“What the—how do you know her?  How do you always know everything?”  It was ridiculous.  The information his sister gathered and retained.  He didn’t know how, but somehow Rhonwyn always had the latest gossip.

“Because I actually have friends,” she stuck her tongue out at him.  “Now, do you wanna know the name of your latest crush?”  Rowan thought about snarling that he didn’t have a crush, but glared and nodded instead.  If he were a cat, curiosity would have killed him several times over.  “Aelin Galathynius.  She’s Galan’s cousin and is visiting with her family for the summer.”

Rowan hummed.  Galan Ashryver had been friends with Rhonwyn for a few years now, so at least now he knew how his sister got this tidbit of information.  “I could arrange an introduction,” Rhonwyn said casually, inspecting her nails.  “If you want.”

Rowan almost choked again.  Forcing the food down his throat, he shook his head.  “No, no—that’s fine.  Oh, look at that—time to get back to work.”  And with that Rowan shoved the remainder of his sandwich into his mouth and all but ran back to his post.  He couldn’t let his sister try to set him up with Aelin.  He’d die of embarrassment and if he didn’t, then she’d never let him live it down.

Less than half an hour later and Rowan was beginning to think he’d never see that girl—Aelin—again.  Something about that thought made him uncomfortable, but then like a shot she was running back into his life.  “Hey!”  She yelled, her eyes alight with fiery determination.  “Lifeguard man!  I need your help!”  Speechless, Rowan stared at her with raised brows.  “Come on,” she growled, glaring up at him on his chair.  “My cousin hurt himself on the rocks and needs first aid!”

Jumping into action, Rowan asked, “Show me,” he ordered and followed Aelin back to her cousin.  She was fast, faster than most, and Rowan would have been impressed by her ability to run on sand if the situation wasn’t so dire.  

They arrived on the scene to find Galan squatting before a boy that looked like the male version of Aelin, using a beach towel to put pressure on the other boy’s foot.  Rowan kneeled on the blond boy’s other side and began rifling through his first aid fanny pack, “Remove the towel,” he ordered Galan.

“I can’t believe we’re at the beach for less than one rutting hour,” Aelin hissed at her cousin, “and you’ve already hurt yourself.”  

Galan moved the towel and the boy hissed, “Yeah, must be a new record for me.  Unless you count that time in Rifthold.”  His words were short and clipped, but even through the pain, the boy egged on his cousin.

Rowan surveyed the wound.  It was a nasty slice along the side of the foot, but wasn’t too deep and wouldn’t need stitches.  “Which time in Rifthold?”  Aelin scoffed.

“What’d you cut this on?”  Rowan asked, interrupting the golden cousins.  

“A rock,” the boy answered, looking Rowan up and down.  “I’m Aedion, by the way.”

“Rowan,” he responded thoughtlessly.  He couldn’t say for sure, but Aedion would probably need to get a tetanus shot just to be safe.  He pulled out some cotton swabs and rubbing alcohol.  “This is gonna sting.”

“I can handle—ah, shit!”  

Aelin snorted, “Served you right.”  Adeion glared at her, but she merely stuck her tongue out at him.  “Is he gonna be okay?”  She asked Rowan, her concern showing through her tone.  

Rowan swallowed—barely—and nodded, pulling out three butterfly strips and placing them over the wound.  “He should be.  It’s not too deep a cut, just bleeds a lot.  I’m gonna tape it up as best I can, but you’re gonna want to get a doctor to look at it.  I hope you’re up to date on your tetanus shot.”  

He looked at Aedion expectantly.  Aedion shrugged, his face perfectly blank, “How the hell should I know?”

Aelin sighed, “That’s a no.”

“I’ll go call dad,” Galan said, rummaging around their things for his phone.  “Let him know what’s going on.”

Rowan wrapped gauze around Aedion’s foot, trying to keep sand out of the bandage.  Aelin knelt down in the sand next to him and placed a hand on his forearm, stopping his movements.  He turned his head and found himself staring into blue eyes ringed with gold.  “Thank you,”  Aelin said, “for helping my cousin and being so level headed.”

“Yeah,” Aedion added, “especially with our background squabbling.”

Rowan’s gaze didn’t stray from Aelin’s, “Yeah,” he mumbled.  “It’s no problem.”  They didn’t move, and they didn’t speak.  Rowan could stare at her for hours.  Days.  Weeks.  She was so … beautiful.  She drew him in like a moth to a flame.  

“Would you just ask her out already?”  Aedion’s voice cut through their trance, making Aelin jump and Rowan blink.  They both looked at him and he looked back with a raised brow.  “Oh, come on.  Like that’s not where this is going?”

Blushing furiously, Rowan looked back to Aelin who was trying to stifle her smile.  “Would you,” he tried, but then frowned.  “I mean, would you be interested—?  With me?  I mean—”

“I’d love to go on a date with you,” Aelin nodded, her smile now blooming across her lips and causing Rowan’s heart to stumble in his chest.  “How’s tonight sound?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he nodded dumbly.  They exchanged numbers, and promises to text, before Galan called out that his dad had arrived.  

As he waved to them goodbye, Rowan vaguely remembered that he was supposed to work a double shift today.  With a smile taking up the whole of his face, Rowan walked back to his post thinking about his upcoming date … and the massive favor he was about to owe Rhonwyn.


	2. Chapter 2

Rowan had to be dreaming.  Had to be.  The best dream of his life, in fact.  The water surrounding him was calm and warm from the sun’s rays.  His surfboard, for once, was comfortable and rocked gently to the sway of the ocean.  The sun, although half way beyond the horizon, was still was still warm on his skin and the way the pink clouds glimmered in the golden light—it had to be a dream.  There was no other explanation.

“Mmm,” Aelin hummed, leaning further back against his bare chest.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a prettier sunset.”

Tightening his arms that were wrapped around her waist, Rowan sighed and rested his chin atop her shoulder.  “It’s not bad,” he agreed.  Dragging the tip of his nose along the curve of her neck—making her shiver—he whispered, “but it’s got nothing on you.”

Laughing, Aelin smacked his knee, “God, you’re cheesy,” she tilted her head back, her gold and blue eyes peering into his green ones, then flickering down to his mouth.  “I love it,” she added, right before leaning in to capture his lips with her own.

If someone had told Rowan a week ago—hell, even a few hours ago—that he’d meet the most gorgeous girl he’d ever seen and go on a date with her and have that date go well—well, he’d have laughed right in that person’s face.  But here he was, and it wasn’t a dream.

Aelin nipped at his bottom lip, making him shiver and groan into the kiss.  

Toes curling in the water, Rowan’s fingers curled into the golden hair at the base of Aelin’s neck, still damp from their earlier activities.  Using his free hand, Rowan ran his fingers down the ridges of her spine.

In the back of his mind, Rowan couldn’t believe it.  Couldn’t believe him.  This morning he could barely even talk to a girl he wasn’t blood related to, but with Aelin … with Aelin he felt like he could do anything.  The two of them had clicked right away, and after the first kiss had been initiated—thanks to Aelin and her seemingly endless reserve of confidence—they could barely keep their hands off each other for longer than a few minutes.

Aelin arched her back and gasped, breaking away from the kiss.  Smiling at his owlish expression, she leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth.  “Ticklish,” she explained.  

Before either of them could return to their preferred activities, Rowan’s lifeguard training kicked in, and he noticed how dark the surroundings were turning.  Sighing, he leaned his forehead against Aelin’s, “We should start heading back to shore while we still have light.”

“Okay,” Aelin said softly, her warm breath fanning his face.  Dragging her fingertips all the way up his stomach to his collar bone, she traced its ridge and said, “Thanks for teaching me how to surf today.”

Smiling, Rowan pulled away to kiss her forehead, “Thanks for agreeing to go on a date with me.”

“Please,” Aelin grinned mischievously, “with these abs?”  She ran her fingers back down his chest, teasing the elastic band of his swim trunks once she reached it. “How could I say no?”

Swallowing thickly, Rowan stared at Aelin with large, wide eyes.  He was vaguely aware that he needed to start swimming them back to shore, but he didn’t care.  Aelin was looking up at him through hooded lids, biting down on her lower lip.  Her fingers hadn’t stopped playing with his waistband.  

“I don’t want tonight to end,” he admitted, his voice a hoarse whisper.  His mouth was suddenly dry.  Everything around him disappeared, everything but Aelin.  Aelin and her mesmerizing eyes and nimble fingers.  

Leaning up, stretching so they were just a hair’s breadth apart, Aelin murmured against his lips, “It doesn’t have to.”

Rowan closed his eyes, anticipating her kiss, and was slightly disappointed when he felt her move away.  But then—oh god—but then she took the tip of his ear into her mouth, ripping a shuddering moan from him.  

Bracing his hands against her hips, it took every ounce of his training to keep them both upright on his surfboard.  

“Besides,” Aelin smiled at him, wild and excited, as she gave his ear one last nip, “I’ve always wanted to do it on a beach.”

Rowan got them back to shore in record time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, but hopefully super sweet. I might write a third part, but it'd be super angsty which means I'd have to write a fourth part to make it better and idk if I'm up for that at this moment in time. Also depends on feedback


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